Ducks hope change in locale for Game 3 leaves them wide awake

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San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) scores past Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson (36) on a power play in the first period of game 2 of a NHL hockey first round Stanley Cup playoff series in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday, April 14, 2018.
(Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

ANAHEIM – Losing has its effects. Especially when it comes to losing playoff games.

“Right now, it doesn’t feel like I slept at all,” said Ducks forward Rickard Rakell, who couldn’t remember when he eventually drifted off after arriving home late Saturday night.

The Ducks have lost two of them, the first two in a best-of-7 Western Conference quarterfinal series against San Jose where they hosted both at Honda Center in front of sellout crowds that wanted any chance to erupt.

Some advantage that was. The Sharks put the clamps on the hosts in a Game 1 shutout and then absorbed some early shots in Game 2 before coolly going about their business in grabbing the lead and not letting it get away.

The result is a commanding 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 at SAP Center on Monday night. The Ducks have now lost six of the seven total meetings between the teams this season. Now they’re facing the prospect of having to win four of the next five to start some kind of Stanley Cup playoff run.

Perhaps this is to be expected. It has been a season of defying the odds and responding to adverse situations, whether self-inflicted or put upon them.

“I don’t think it’s ever a spot you want to be in,” Ducks goalie John Gibson said. “It’s definitely tough. It’s been a grind all year. So it’s not going to get any easier. I think we have a lot of guys here that have kind of been around and been in the situations before.

“So I think we just got to fall back on that and just trust one another.”

It is time to band together all right. The Ducks must raise their game because San Jose has simply been better. Up front, on defense, in goal. But they’ve got precedence to look right at for inspiration.

It was only last year where Edmonton took Games 1 and 2 in Anaheim and went back home to a raucous Rogers Place. The Ducks stared at that imposing series deficit and erased it, extending a topsy-turvy series that become memorable and historic. It was the first time they captured one while down 0-2.

And while less memorable, it was in 2016 where the Ducks dropped two at home to Nashville but won Games 3 and 4 on the road and ultimately forced a Game 7.

“We‘ve been in this situation before,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said, starting to think back to Game 3 in Edmonton. “Sometimes it’s better to get away from home and get where you feel comfortable as a group. You’re all together in the hotel and doing those things. A little less distractions when you get on the road.

“The mindset is to win one game now. That’s what we have to do. It’s preparation for that one game and that started in the first period.”

The Ducks not only scored 25 seconds into that Game 3 but claimed the first period in decisive fashion and went on to a 6-3 win over the Oilers. In Game 2 against San Jose on Saturday, Jakob Silfverberg scored 40 seconds in but the Sharks came back and led after the opening 20 minutes.

These Sharks are more experienced and much tighter defensively. The Ducks will have to be persistent while having a sense of calm in their latest dire predicament.

“There has to be,” Getzlaf said. “You can’t put too much pressure on any situation in the playoffs. When you’re talking about a seven-game series, it’s about just trying to get better. Did a lot of better things. And we’re going to need another level for Game 3.”

Some things were far better than their dreadful Game 1 but more is needed. Gibson made several tremendous saves to keep the Ducks close but his positioning got away from him in the first half of the game when the Sharks put three past him.

The Ducks lean on him. Way too much at times. But given their offensive struggles, they’ve got to get the goals against under three by any means possible.

“Stuff’s going to happen,” Gibson said. “There’s bounces and stuff. Nobody likes to lose. And I’ll definitely put more pressure on myself to be better hopefully in Game 3. Hopefully keep the goals down a little bit.

“We know it’s going to be tough. … It’s going to be a challenge and it’s going to be tight.”

More is also needed from the top line. The Ducks have two goals in the first two games and none has come from Getzlaf or Rickard Rakell. Carlyle already took to moving up Ondrej Kase and dropping Corey Perry to the third line for Game 2.

But the only point has come from Getzlaf, who assisted on Hampus Lindholm’s power-play goal Saturday.

“It’s really frustrating,” Rakell said. “It’s the playoffs. This is where it really matters. When you’re not helping the team in the way you know you can, it’s really frustrating. It’s hard to sleep at night because you’re rewinding the game in your head the whole time, thinking I should have done something different here. I should have tried that. Do that.

“We have at least two more games here to prove ourselves and to show we want to move forward.”

While striking a positive tone before their flight, Rakell also was realistic about the challenge ahead. This isn’t 2017 and this isn’t Edmonton. Past resiliency can be summoned but little carries over in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Not game to game and certainly not year to year.

“It’s a different year and it’s not going to be served on a silver platter,” he said. “We got to go into San Jose and do the job. … We have to see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point.”